Number 23                                                                                      5th Sunday of Easter, 2003

The Gospel for the Fifth Sunday is from John's Last Supper Discourse. "I am the vine, my Father the vinedresser". This is just one of a number of images which figure in what is often called the "Farewell Discourse". 

Here we have a mixture of tough and gentle messages - "Every branch which bears no fruit, my Father will cut away". Even those which do bear fruit he will prune. But 'don't be afraid', remain in the love of Christ and fruit will be there. Much of the discourse, narrated by John,  is like this, cautionary but consoling, with an underlying message that life and the Gospel are serious, things will be tough, but stay with Christ and have confidence in the face of discouragement and even hatred.

In the Pope's recent "Ecclesia de Eucharistia", we have a related message, "In the humble signs of bread and wine, changed into his body and blood, Christ walks beside us as our strength and our food for the journey and he enables us to become, for everyone, witnesses of hope.

In his most recent publication, Sean Sammon FMS makes some observations which illustrate similarity between ourselves, as consecrated religious in this age, and the disciples then. He quotes Carol Osiek who said, "Those of us who remember Vatican II ... thought that we had arrived in the Promised Land". But forty or so years of efforts to adapt and renew religious life have taught us that the journey is longer than expected and. like Moses, we may not actually enter the Promised Land, but only traverse the desert. And yet, Sean says, "How privileged we are to live at this time in history, and in the history of consecrated life! ... The poverty which is ours today, may allow us to admit that, in the end, renewal must be God's work". The vinedresser again!

So there are some clear messages for us. If we remain in Christ, we may have confidence - but we will have to 'do something', not just sit and wait. Like the disciples, we will have to face up to reality, have it tough and try to do whatever we can, in spite of opposition and discouragement, to make our consecrated life reflect those values which we honoured when we answered the call which we were given.

Pruning will have to occur, and pruning is not a pleasant sight. Bad habits and attitudes need cutting,  and so do wrong relationships, disordered priorities. Pruning must happen to allow in light and room for growth.

In his prayer for his disciples in the same description by John, Jesus says, "As you have sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself, so that they too may be consecrated in truth. I pray not only for these but also for those who, through their teaching, will come to believe in me".

So there has to be some confidence, some trust, that Jesus did really mean to look after those he had chosen, and us by extension. Brotherhood may have some uncertainties about its identity in this age, but the basics of discipleship and brotherhood with Jesus remain the same. 

Pray for the General Chapter to be held in Africa next year. Our General Chapters have been very significant aspects of our Congregation's development. This one is something new, in a different culture and physical environment. It is an opportunity to be seized and another sign of hope.

- Philip

Preparations are well under way for the 2004 General Chapter. On their recent Visitation in Kenya, Philip and Jerome were able to see first hand the arrangements in progress at Kamagut for Chapter and joined in various meetings with those in Kenya who have taken up the task of seeing that this Chapter is well set up.

Kamagut is the Novitiate for the Region. It is about 18 km northwest of Eldoret and is somewhere in the vicinity of seven to eight thousand feet above sea level. The present premises are set among simple farming properties, some large and many quite small. There is an army barracks a couple of kilometres away. The main road outside the property continues northwest to Kitale where we also have a community and then north to Lodwar, the Turkana Desert and Sudan.

Preparations at Kamagut are quite advanced. A new Brothers' House is nearing completion and has good accommodation facilities. Also under construction is a multi-purpose building which will house the main Chapter Conference Room. These new buildings are designed so that they will provide facilities after Chapter for Formation and for the mission of the Congregation in the Kamagut, Eldoret area. They will be finished soon and there will be plenty of time to try them out and adapt them for Chapter and their subsequent usage. Congratulations to Felim, his Council and to Tom and Nick on site for the efficiency of the operation, and to James O'Rourke and the Irish home Province who are carrying the current expenses until the Extended Council meets in August.
 

Chapter Conference Room	Brothers' Accommodation

As notified in the recent Convocation Letter, The Chapter begins on Sunday 25 July, 2004 and concludes on the Feast of the Assumption, also a Sunday, just three weeks later. Some good input personnel have been engaged from within Africa.

Processes are underway at this time for the election of delegates to Chapter. These will be known by the end of July and their work of preparing for the Chapter will begin in earnest in September. This Chapter is quite different in a number of aspects from those which have gone before. It is clear that those who make up the Chapter will need to be well prepared, not only for the processes and agenda of Chapter but also for the cultural and physical environment in which it will be held.  Correspondence with Capitulants will begin in September and continue regularly up till just before Chapter.

For those interested in climatic aspects for Capitulants, The Kamagut/Eldoret area has a mostly pleasant climate. Average day time temperatures in July - August are round low 20's Celsius or low 70's Fahrenheit. There are sometimes afternoon thunderstorms in this area in July, some quite heavy. It is between the 'long rains' of April to June and the 'short rains' of December, which are the monsoon periods. Because of the altitude, the effect of the sunlight is very noticeable. Solar radiation levels are high and skin protection is necessary for many.

Provided the monsoon rains have done their job, the 'uplands' areas of Kenya are quite spectacular and there is much natural beauty and quite picturesque agricultural scenery. Extensive road travel can be somewhat tiring.
Brothers everywhere are asked to pray for the success of this Chapter and for the young Region which is hosting it and which will benefit directly and indirectly from it.

As this newsletter goes to press, Philip and Jerome are off to California for General Visitation. Both have only recently returned from Kenyan Visitation. From Los Angeles they move to Sydney to visit communities there. Late July will see them on Thursday Island, in Torres Strait. After Visitation in Wewak and Aitape, Papua New Guinea, they will be joined (in Aitape) by the other members of the Extended Council for meetings there. Extended Council business will be concluded in Sydney in the last week of August. This is the last such meeting, and indeed the last Visitation, before the General Chapter of 2004.

Since the last Newsletter, quite a few developments have taken place in preparations for some of this year's Jubilee celebrations. In particular, the group who were professed together in Ireland in 1953 will now be able to celebrate together in Sydney on 27 July, 2003. 

These Golden Jubilarians are Marcellus Broderick (Kenya), Richard Doheny (Australia), Gregory Fox (Ireland) and Aengus Kavanagh (Australia). Note that Marcellus' name was omitted in the previous listing. Apologies Marcellus, and we all know that you will have a great time celebrating with the others in Sydney.

Members of Extended Council will be in Sydney also, preparing for their meetings there and in PNG. They will also be able to enjoy these celebrations. We also note that Jerome will join with John Verhoeven on 15 June in celebrating Silver Jubilees.

Good Friday, Mrs. Margaret Bulfin, of Ballinure, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, an Affiliate Member and mother of Bernard and Gerard Bulfin, both in Australia.

Friday, 2 May, Mr. Peter Young, Affiliate Member, in Sydney. Peter was buried from Holy Cross College on Tuesday 6 May. He had earlier been a staff member and Deputy Principal at Holy Cross. In his final days he was cared for by the Brothers' Community at Bradbury.

The Final Profession of Peter Oduor in Eldoret, Kenya on Saturday 26 April, 2003. First Professions took place in India on 1st May.  Congratulations and welcome to Ignatius Kerketta, Nelsan Lomga, Benjamine Mirandi, Anup Kiro, John Paul Yuvaraj, Ruban John and Anand Elia. Animals are often given as gifts.

"Among the casualties of the new Ireland have been the many excellent nuns, priests and brothers who dedicated their lives to education and health care, both in Ireland and around the world and who contributed greatly to this ripening Ireland with its network of friends around the globe. Now they are visibly ageing and their future is far from easy to predict".

"The widespread embrace of prosperity has been a wonderful and heartening phenomenon.... but if you are still marooned on the beach and the uplifted boats are sailing over the horizon, the space between can seem a frightening, unbridgeable chasm".
 

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As we come closer to the end of another General Visitation, there are a couple of reflections which I would like to record on the matter of personal goals and personal mission statements. While in the middle of the process of interviewing individual Brothers and being greatly impressed and edified by their frankness and openness about their personal goals or personal mission, I picked up a book which I had brought from India, by Fr. C.P. Varkey, on the use and abuse of authority in Religious Life. Some of the points made resonated with my present experiences.

Victor Frankl says that we detect rather than invent our mission in life. "Everyone has his or her own specific vocation or mission in life.... Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Everyone's task is as unique as is his or her specific opportunity to implement it".

Varkey says that each one of us should have a personal mission statement - a brief written statement about what we want to become and how we intend to become that. He says that we all have an unconscious and unwritten mission statement, but until we come out and write it down and scrutinise it in the light of the Gospel, we often don't know what motivation or rationale lies behind the things we do every day. Nor can we renew ourselves and our mission unless we unveil what is in the heart. Varkey also tells a small story.

"Suresh is a village postman. I met him one day carrying a bundle of letters at about 5.00 p.m. I asked him why he was so late in delivering letters. He told me, 'All this came in by evening mail. Normally I need only to deliver the next day. But tomorrow is a holiday and then there is a general strike. This mail has some interview cards and some money orders which people will really need'.

After a little more small talk, he told me that he had made a resolution very early in his job that no one should be inconvenienced by any action or omission of his. This quite simple man had a personal mission statement which he lived".

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	Kabongo gets up and going In this shot we have Peter Oduor, Principal, on the right and Andrew Masese his fellow community member and assistant in the new school. You get a glimpse of the rural seeting in the background.  This new venture outside of  Eldoret, on the airport side, is  now off to a good start, thanks  to the generosity  of many people.
	Kibera Involvement Continues You will remember that we have had a brother teaching as a volunteer in the Kibera slum in Nairobi since 2000. That mission continues. On the right is Br Andrew Omuse with a volunteer sister and the Principal of the Baraka Za Ibrahim School in a huge slum of over one million people. A stipend for Andrew's community is paid by the Newbridge Community in Ireland.
	Nairobi Outreach to Poor Kids This is Br John Gitonga with a German missionary Sister.  This new facility  is an outreach  of Precious Blood School  at Riruta, in Nairobi. John is a voluntary teacher in this  outreach programme to  orphans and street children  of the area. John shares  community with Andrew at Riruta.
	Development of Young Athletes Br Colm, Iten, continues to provide experienced  training for young athletes  from Kenya and also from Zimbabwe and countries  outside Africa.  He is seen here with  Valentine Koeck, 13,  and Mike Kibiego, 17.

	Some Other Angles
Br Amoscars who nurses in the memorial Hospital in Eldoret.  He is with a patient who seems  to be on the improve.	Br Henry Ojwang who nurses with Assumption Sisters at the Moi's Bridge Clinic. On this days we have a clinic for mothers and babies.	Here are Jerome and Philip with the boys of St Patrick's at Galway in March.These boys raised a significant amount for the Kabongo project.
This year Patrician Brothers Fairfield a scattering of basic buildings fine complex and a highly These photos are from Cathedral in Sydney		celebrating its Goldren Jubilee. From in dusty fields in 1953, it is now a respected leader in education. the Mass in St Mary's in February, 2003